My current 9th grader is taking: Math: Algebra 2 with/Trig/Precal from AskDrCallahan.com Science: Apologia Chemistry with accompanying outside class English (American Lit.): Outside class with various supplemental materials at home World Geography: BJU Foreign Language: Biblical Greek (Basics of Biblical Greek by Mounce) with accompanying outside class Intro to Logic Fine Arts: Piano P.E. - Ballet 8 hrs. a week ACT Prep

I've been considering this program for one of my sons who will be in 5th grade next year. He currently uses and is successful with IEW Intensive A, however he doesn't love it. It's probably because he's a more natural writer and its formulaic nature is a bit much. He's interested in Writers in Residence and liked the look of the sample I showed him. However, your comment is exactly one of the things I've been concerned about. I worry it will jump around a lot. I know "jumpiness" can keep interest levels up, but I wonder how effective it is for retaining information for the long haul? Have you seen any issues with retention of the material learned? What is it about the scoring sheets you do not like? With all of that said, my younger son (will be in 4th next year) really enjoys IEW and has progressed very well with it. I think it's because he isn't a natural writer and the formulaic approach takes some of the pressure off. He does not want to switch to Writers in Residence.

What did you do to modify fix-it? Very interested in your ideas!

I think it depends on the child. My daughter, a natural speller, finished level 7 in 4th grade. For 5th and 6th grades, we've not done formal spelling curriculums, but have addressed spelling mistakes as they come up in her writing. It isn't often she makes mistakes so I know that was the best course of action for her. My oldest son will finish level 7 in 5th grade, but I will probably find something more formal for him to do for one more year during 6th grade. He's a good little speller, but isn't quite as natural as my daughter and could use an extra year of review. My youngest son is on track to finish level 7 in 6th grade and I could really see having him continue a formal spelling curriculum for one more year after that. If things continue the way they are right now with him, he will need the extra practice to cement everything he's learned. We currently use AAS for the younger two kids and for all of the kids we do Greek and Latin roots. I don't normally count the Greek and Latin roots work as spelling but I suppose I could. I generally count it as vocabulary in our day.

My daughter just finished MM6 (the old version) and will be starting on Foerster's Algebra I with the Math Without Borders videos in the fall. She's quite advanced in math, but doesn't enjoy it much at all. I think this will change with algebra, though....at least it did for me, and we are very similar. I didn't think she'd need another pre-algebra but I wasn't willing to stress her out with something like Art of Problem Solving. After sitting her down and looking through all the options for algebra together (and doing numerous samples), she liked Chalkdust best. Foerster's with the Math Without Borders videos were an extremely close second. We are going with the latter simply due to cost.

Thank you! I see what you mean. However, I don't have any issues with the layout compared to the other books in the exploring creation series. I'm so glad it wasn't actual content you noticed being not as good because I was looking forward to getting the updated version. Thanks again for your comments!

My 7th grader has done The Creative Writer Level 1 and WWS2 this year. She does the former one day a week and the latter four days a week. She absolutely loves to write, especially creatively, but I will say it has been a lot of work....almost too much, since she completes The Creative Writer's whole week's lesson in that one day. If I could go back and do it over, I would replace one of the other subjects she did with The Creative Writer and spread it over the whole week like it's probably meant to do. Though which subject I'd replace is a mystery since they all seemed so important...possibly one of the extra co-op classes she took. I hope this helps.

I'm also wondering if other books will be updated. We are doing astronomy next year and I planned on going with the updated version, partly because I like that the notebooking journals are in color. What have you seen specifically that makes you feel it isn't as good? Thanks for any help you can give!

Math: Algebra 1 - leaning towards Foerster's Algebra with Math Without Borders videos Literature: currently putting together a reading list (probably will only require her to read books from the list...nothing else) Bible: History: Grammar: Michael Clay Thompson's Magic Lens I Vocabulary: Michael Clay Thompson's The Word Within the Word I Poetry: Michael Clay Thompson's Poetry and Humanity Writing: Writing with Skill 3 Science: Apologia's Physical Science (will attend an accompanying co-op class twice a week) Foreign Language: BJU Spanish I (will attend an accompanying co-op class twice a week) Art: possibly palette knife painting (co-op class once a week), sewing, painting Additional co-op classes: possibly Money Makers class once a week (if not doing palette knife painting), Student Government Association once a week PE: 10 hours of ballet/pointe per week (Eek!), mountain biking, run 5Ks Music: Piano

This is what I was looking for! It seems like I read somewhere at some point over the years that children who finish the old version of MM6 are ready to move onto Algebra I, but for the life of me I can't find where I read that. It may not have even been on these forums...possibly it was the Math Mammoth site. I also wondered if MM's pre algebra would be a repeat for students coming out of the old version of MM6. My daughter is finishing up MM6 this year and I can't decide whether or not to go straight into Algebra or do pre algebra first. She's doing great in the old MM6, rarely ever getting anything incorrect. But while she doesn't hate math, I can't say she really enjoys it. I don't want to put her in algebra and it be frustrating but, I also don't want to waste a year in pre algebra if it isn't necessary. Do you or anyone else have any advice concerning this situation? Has anyone successfully gone to algebra after the old MM6? Is a pre algebra program necessary? Thanks!

Oops. Sorry about the posting of only a quote above. Before writing this review, I should note that my children, 11, 8, and 7, are all gifted and are lovers of language. Mr. Thompson's obvious love for language is what drew me to this curriculum in the first place. I purchased iBook versions of MCT Grammar Island and Practice Island (grammar), The Music of the Hemispheres (poetry), and Building Language (vocabulary) for my 8 and 7 year old boys. Originally, I wanted to buy the printed books for their beauty. However, the allure of all of the books being on an iPad, plus the lower cost, was just too much temptation to resist. The iBook versions do not come with a teacher's manual for each student book, but rather have one implementation manual that covers all of the books in a particular level. I have to say my boys are thriving with this curriculum. Per the suggestions of Royal Fireworks Press, we have only used the grammar book at this point and will add the other two books when grammar is complete. With that said, for grammar, having the big picture ahead of time was monumental for my boys and I'm impressed with their retention thus far. They look forward to grammar each and every day. We use the time to snuggle up on the bed and have fun conversations about it. I did not buy the writing program because my boys are writing phobic and Writing with Ease has been wonderfully successful for them both. I did not buy the literature program because we are working on something that we already love. I wasn't sure we'd love it as much. For my 11 year old daughter, I purchased iBook versions of MCT Grammar of Literature (grammar) and Vocabulary of Literature (vocabulary). This level is called the literature level and is the one that comes between levels 3 and 4. These were also the only two books available in iBooks at the time of my purchase. Hopefully, the others come out before we need them. My daughter adores this curriculum and mentions that fact every day. For her it's an independent curriculum. I think she appreciates this curriculum more than the rest of us (even though we love it) because she is the biggest lover of language in the family. It's her nature to play with and experiment with the beauty of language and this curriculum encourages that every step of the way. She especially loves the vocabulary and frequently gets lost in an assignment because of how fun it is to her. I did not buy the writing for her because we are using Writing with Skill 2 with much success, nor did I think the literature would be a good fit for her. It has not been difficult at all to implement. Of course, I really don't think there is a way to mess it up. It's very organic. I'm sorry I have to cut this review short (my son is getting out of guitar practice) but I hope it was helpful in some way. ETA: The Literature Level of MCT has been renamed level 4 and what used to be 4 is now 5 and so on. Since this writing, I bought The Poetry of Literature for my daughter and she LOVED it....to the point that as soon as she finished it, she started reviewing it all again. She has also been inspired to analyze any literature she reads looking for poetry and to use poetic elements in her own writing. But again, language is her thing.

Thank you for your help! I wanted the print versions, too, because they look so beautifully done, but ultimately I chose the ibook versions. It was a difficult choice since we've never used digital curriculum before and I'm attached to my beautiful books. However, we had already decided on getting each of the kids an iPad mini for the upcoming school year to incorporate more technology into our homeschool. The cost savings of the ibook versions were enough to spur us to get them. Plus, I really think my boys will enjoy the interaction of the ibook versions. With that said, my husband gives his blessing for me to purchase the printed version later on if I find that I simply must have a hard copy. Hahaha! He knows me so well. Another thing that convinced me to go with digital is the fact that I discovered there ARE digital teacher manuals. Though, instead of a separate teacher's guide for each part of the curriculum, there is one book that encompasses all of the language arts portions for that level. This can be done because they did not have to include the answers in the teacher's guides due to the student being able to check the correctness immediately after completing the assignment in the student ibook. Now my biggest issue is choosing a level for my daughter. Maybe you can help. She's going into 6th grade. She is gifted and her particular strengths are in the language arts area: grammar, writing, speaking, spelling, reading, etc. I was trying to decide between level 3 and 4. Originally, I chose level 4 because level 3 looks too simplistic for her, but then I spoke with someone from Royal Fireworks Press who told me level 3.5 is coming out by August. They stated the reason they are coming out with this new "in between" level is because they felt the gap between levels 3 and 4 were too large. Do any of you have any experience with either levels or both levels? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I noticed there aren't parent guides for the ibook versions. Does anyone know if that means you don't need the parent guides for the ibook versions or just that they aren't available, yet?

I'm ordering the Michael Clay Thompson grammar, vocabulary, and poetry for the upcoming school year. However, I'm not sure if I should go with the printed books or the ibook versions. Does anyone have any experience with either or both that can tell me what the differences are between the two versions? Thanks for any help you can give!